Sparks flickered off her fingertips and crawled up her arms as she turned toward Ahmed. “Guess I should go check what he has for me then.”
“What are we to call you now, Carol?” Damien called to her back.
Carol didn’t even turn around. “Nothing’s changed, Professor Smoke. I’m the Baba Yaga. Morgana said so.”
She stopped at the training field and looked up at her familiar. “Ahmed, I am so proud of you. If it was in my power to remove the Jezibaba’s punishment, I would do so. The truth is I would never have survived this day if it hadn’t been for your help. You saved the forest and then helped save this campus… well, what’s left of it anyway.”
Carol went to one knee and bowed her head. “Thank you, Great Ahmed. I am honored by your service to me.”
The Thunderbird’s caw of pleasure shook the crumbling walls of nearby buildings. It would take a long time to rebuild the school. If anyone felt like bothering. What would happen to all the children? Where would they go to be trained now?
Carol stood again, feeling the weight of all the responsibility. Could she have prevented this? Could she and Hildy have stopped this from happening if they hadn’t gone to save Iren?
But she couldn’t let the “what ifs” stop her or even slow her from what still had to be done.
Goddess knew, she’d seen the Jezibaba far more overwhelmed and still function.
She looked at her familiar. “What do you have for me, Ahmed?”
She watched stoically as the Thunderbird lifted his claw and morphed back into his dog form. Ahmed hunkered low and growled at the dragon who was still prone on the ground. Thane was broken, but not completely dead. Carol let anger sweep over her as she pondered the best way to end his miserable life.
“You were warned about hurting the people I loved, dragon. Now all that’s left is deciding how much I want you to suffer before you die.”
“I have a few ideas if you’re taking suggestions,” a familiar voice said behind her. “If the great Baba Yaga wants some advice from an old friend.”
Carol spun and faced the woman who had steadfastly supported her. Once again, she knelt.
“I want to hug you so bad it’s painful, but this show of respect is better for now. We have an audience and I want them to know that the Baba Yaga, even though she’s only one witch now, will not allow the people she cares about to be harmed.”
Jezibaba nodded and walked closer, looking down. “Being a hard-ass isn’t easy, Carol. Neither is being alone. Let people into your life when you can. It will save you countless years of bitterness. Don’t do the job like I did. Do it in a way you can live with and enjoy. Goddess knows, some days it’s hard enough just to stay alive.”
Carol nodded and rose to her feet. “I’ll keep all that in mind. So let’s get this over with. How does the fire lizard die?”
Jezibaba lifted her chin. “As an example,” she said. Looking behind her, she motioned the warlocks forward. She turned to Carol. “My warlocks are in your service now with the exception of one.”
“Nathaniel,” Carol said, not bothering to look. She could feel he wasn’t there.
“Yes. Nathaniel and I are both retiring,” Jezibaba explained. “However, I feel confident that in a few days you’ll have a new line of warlocks all bidding to be in your posse. Choose your leader wisely. I’ll be happy to help if you need a second opinion.”
“Do I have to sleep with them to gain their loyalty?” Carol asked.
“No. Never,” Jezibaba assured her with a smile.
“Thank the Goddess,” Carol declared. She looked at the warlocks. “No offense, guys.”
They raised their hands in a unanimous show of understanding.
Carol snorted. “So back to Thane’s death…”
Jezibaba laughed. “Your enthusiasm for punishment will be an asset for your work, but sometimes you also need to be clever. Conniving even. Best you learn that right away. Do you care if I use Thane as one final teaching experience to demonstrate?”
“I guess not,” Carol said, glancing down at Thane who seemed to have fallen unconscious.
Jezibaba looked over at the warlocks. “You guys got this?” They surrounded the dragon before her words drifted from the air. She looked back at Carol and smiled fully.
“Great. Let’s go have some tea. Charles and the cats are watching over Hildy. Damien is brooding and avoiding me. Nathaniel is staring at the wall and wondering what he’s going to do next. This seems the perfect time for us to take a break.”
“The cafeteria got destroyed. Where will we go?” Carol asked, lifting her hands.
Jezibaba laughed. “Your limitations are all in your mind, Carol. The Baba Yaga can have tea wherever she damn well wants.”
“Okay. I like oolong,” Carol said.
“China it is,” Jezibaba answered, touching her arm.
Chapter 10
Confused, Carol leaned over until she could whisper. “I still don’t get it. Tell me again. Why did we heal him?”
The Jezibaba bent close to her ear. “Thane’s death will hurt him more, and the dragon looks much fiercer when he’s well. We want him to look like a captured enemy. It will hammer our point home.”
“Got it,” Carol said.
Jezibaba patted her shoulder as she walked by her, followed closely by her handsome, retiring warlock. Nathaniel had donned his best brown robe for his final appearance before the council.
Staring at Nathaniel’s backside, Carol found herself wondering how nice the man’s ass might look in normal clothes. What would he look like in pants? She hoped she got to see one day.
When Hildy smacked her arm, she pulled her attention from Nathaniel’s butt and put it back on the Council of Witches who were formally assembled. She gazed sideways at her friend who’d manage to avoid talking privately with her for almost a week. Carol wasn’t going to let Hildy hide forever. They needed to talk and it needed to be soon.
“Since my commission is finished, the magic constraints of this location are now null and void.” Jezibaba waved an arm and the wards the council had raised against her magic around the building vanished. She smiled at the line of witches watching her with fear in most of their eyes. “That display of my Goddess given power was compliments of Morgana the Red, who remains the patron of your new protectoress.”
Lady Elsforth, the elderly witch who had replaced the recently deceased Lord Byron, looked past the Jezibaba until her gaze drilled into Carol. Carol stiffened and looked calmly back. The councilwoman was a follower of Merlin and saw no reason the Council of Witches needed to answer to a goddess for their magic.
“Morgana’s champion is not the foretold Baba Yaga. She is but one witch.”
Jezibaba nodded and turned to look at Carol. She winked and Carol snapped her spine even straighter as the Jezibaba turned back to the new head of the council.
“True. The Baba Yaga was actually three witches. One of them the council kept from me and trained for themselves. Because of your predecessor’s betrayal, Lady Elsforth, only one witch surfaced from the Baba Yaga test. The combined power of three witches now resides solely within Carol. However, since she was one of the ones foretold, Carol now represents what remains of the Baba Yaga, which is why she retains the title. The worthy one has manifested differently than expected. That doesn’t make this less real or Carol’s magic less powerful.”
Lady Elsforth snorted. “Fine. Is your sole successor willing to enter into an agreement to serve us? And can she actually speak for herself? So far, you’re the only one talking, Jezibaba.”
Jezibaba smiled. “I speak on behalf the Goddess and for myself, since I am the one most wronged by the treachery that has come to pass. If I had known there were three Chosen Ones, I would have passed along my training to ALL of them.”
“You can’t blame the entire council for the crimes of one or a few.”
Jezibaba stared the woman down. “Who else is to blame, Lady Elsforth? The council chose Lord Byron to l
ead them. Lord Byron’s niece should have been trained by me, but she wasn’t. Instead, she was corrupted by him and other council members who remain as yet unidentified. The council has been completely unhelpful in ridding themselves of traitors.”
“I don’t see what this has to do with the service of the Baba Yaga.”
“Let me simplify it then. Carol will not be signed into any agreement with the existing council. If a completely new council comes into power one day, she may reconsider. Until such a time, I have advised her to answer only to Morgana. Any appearance to speak with you in the future will be at her discretion. I advise you to treat her with the respect she deserves. You will deliver assignments through the warlocks.”
“This is highly irregular,” Lady Elsforth declared.
Jezibaba crossed her arms and stared. “So was your predecessor keeping the third Baba Yaga witch from me. You don’t see me throwing that in the council’s face, do you? I’m quite ready to move on and be done with my many centuries of service for you despite your corruption.”
The woman’s lips thinned, but she nodded. “We concede your point, but you must concede ours. Not all of us are evil.”
“As we are aware, Lady Elsforth. The Elvin King was most helpful in keeping up with those of you who came to our aid when the treachery was discovered. Now, as a show of good faith on our part, we’d like the council to witness Carol delivering her first punishment. This will demonstrate just how powerful my replacement is and how fierce her judgment for those who betray the magical community. It has been decided that the dragon known as Thane will be given over to the demons the witch Isobelle commissioned as full and complete payment for services rendered. The demons have agreed to stay beyond the veil if we do this.”
“What are you talking about? Such a punishment cannot be done. Unless you are aligned with dark magic, no one can open the veil.”
Jezibaba glared at the council. “Actually, I can. I just haven’t needed to until today. Carol can do it as well.”
She lifted a hand and sent a bolt of power out. The warlocks linked to the blast and pulled it apart until a void was created. Beyond it, all could see demons and other dark forces watching… and waiting.
Carol stepped forward and snapped her fingers. Thane appeared at her feet. He was bound, but not gagged.
“You have no authority to punish me,” he spat.
Carol looked at him coldly. “I have the right of the protectoress who serves the magical community on this planet. Here is a list of your crimes. You kidnapped a shifter and an Elvin prince. You set fire to an ancient forest to cause a distraction. You recruited other dragons to help you burn the entire campus of Witchery U. You spelled the Jezibaba and planned to sell her to the highest bidder. And worst of all, you kissed me and Hildy when you didn’t even like either of us. Your soul was already evil long before you delved into black magic, which is expressly forbidden.”
“Some of that is not true,” Thane denied, looking at the gaping black hole. “I liked Hildy just fine. It was you I hated on sight.”
“For good reason,” Carol said. “I wanted to kill you even back then.”
She levitated the dragon and moved him toward the split in the veil. She felt nothing except a sense of justice finally being served.
“Daemonum, ibi pecunia est!” Carol chanted, her voice powerfully echoing in the chamber.
Grateful to see the end of him, she sent Thane flying through the portal. He would never harm anyone again and would keep the demons where they belonged for a while. The forces he sought to use for his own ends descended on Thane with no mercy. He was completely devoured before the Jezibaba and warlocks could close the gap in the veil.
Carol turned away from the carnage and faced the council. Judging by the horrified looks on their faces, they’d all watched the whole thing.
Jezibaba sighed happily as she also approached the bench. She bowed her head. “Lady Elsforth. Council Men. Council Women. You now have my official resignation. It’s been an honor serving the magical community. I wish I could say the same about serving you, but I can’t. But know that if the Baba Yaga ever discovers who on the council works against us, I will help her open the veil as many times as necessary to rid the world of those betrayers. We will keep the demons well fed.”
Lady Elsforth held out a trembling hand. Power built in her palm. “Thank you for your service, Great Jezibaba. Your contract with this council is done.”
Carol felt a whip of power pass through the Jezibaba. She breathed a sigh of relief. She stepped forward and turned to bow to the Jezibaba too. She turned back and then bowed to Lady Elsforth.
When she lifted her gaze, she looked up and down the members. Suddenly she knew… she knew who the betrayers were. They must have seen their deaths in her face because they were the first to stand and bow to her. But it was too late. Her next job was already clear to her.
“I look forward to serving the magical community,” Carol said, smiling at the witches she faced. “I will be personally visiting each council member within the next few days to get acquainted. Blessed be.”
“Blessed be, Great Baba Yaga,” Lady Elsforth declared.
The council members nearly ran over each other as they left.
When they were alone in the hall, Carol turned to the Jezibaba. “Glad that’s over. Time to party now and celebrate your retirement?”
“Almost,” Jezibaba said. “Let’s you, me, and Hildy go have a little chat.”
Carol sighed and nodded.
Chapter 11
“Okay,” Jezibaba said, propping her feet on the desk. “Talk it out and hurry. I have to go find a brooding dragon. I’m just here to make sure no one dies during this discussion.”
Carol looked at Hildy. “Why did you do it, Hildy? Why did you make the goddess give me your power? That’s all I want to know.”
Hildy twirled a lock of her hair and walked away. “Because I chose to save Chuck instead of fighting alongside you. Morgana even admitted that we might have taken Isobelle down if I’d combined my power with yours. Look what we did when we freed Iren. Face it, I failed the test.”
Carol crossed her arms. “Bullshit. I would have done the same thing you did, even without the overwhelming lust making you jump in front of the well-hung bear of your dreams. Chuck was chained to a tree, Hildy. He was the innocent. That’s who you were supposed to protect.”
“A Baba Yaga witch is supposed to fight for the greater good. One bear was not more important than the entire magical community.”
Carol swiped the air with her arm. “You know, freaking Isobelle was a Baba Yaga witch too. That response is null and void. Neither of us expected to have to fight someone who was supposed to be one of us.”
“You don’t understand,” Hildy exclaimed.
“What don’t I understand? That dressing in pink all those years warped your brain?”
“Don’t tease me about my clothes, Carol.”
Carol raised one arm and swiped at the air again. “Then tell me the damn truth.”
Hildy glared. “I don’t want to be a Baba Yaga. Okay? I haven’t wanted that since we were seventeen. But I didn’t want to let anyone down… especially you.” She walked away and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t like to fight. It’s doesn’t feel right to me. I want to heal people.”
“Shifters, you mean. You want to heal shifters,” Carol prodded.
“Okay. Fine. I want to heal shifters, and now I’m going to,” Hildy declared, turning back to her friend. “Morgana was just going to send me off to do it like I was, but you would have been left with just a third of the power you really needed to do a job you’ve loved every moment since you were chosen. So I asked her to give you my Baba Yaga witch power. She said it was a great idea.”
Carol nodded. “She gave me Isobelle’s as well. All Isobelle has left is her dark magic.”
“Speaking of the devil witch, where is she?”
Carol looked hard at the ceiling.
>
“What? Did you kill her in some horrible way?” Hildy demanded.
“Sort of,” Carol said.
“Hildy told you her truth, Carol. Now you tell Hildy yours,” Jezibaba ordered.
Carol sighed. “Isobelle was frozen in place, still under the effects of the spell the cats reflected back to her. But Chuck kept sniffing you and I thought he was going to eat you…”
“Yeah… if I’m lucky,” Hildy said, laughing as she snorted at her own joke.
“And then there was your stupid, mafia talking cats trying to explain what you’d done…”
“Hey, those cats saved our lives. They get anchovy and salmon pizza every day for a month.”
Carol snickered and shrugged. “I lost her. Okay. I left her because you needed a healer and Fat Bastard said the dragons were attacking the school. I couldn’t do it all at once… or at least I didn’t think I could. The bottom line is when I finally went back to collect her, Isobelle was gone.”
“She nearly killed us both, Carol. How could you forget her?” Hildy asked in shock.
Carol shrugged. “Because getting you help was more important to me at the time. Then I went to China to have tea with the Jezibaba and retrieving Isobelle just completely slipped my mind. It’s embarrassing, but I know I’ll catch up to her again one day, if she’s even still alive.”
Hildy covered her mouth to keep from laughing. “Does Morgana know?”
Carol made a face. “Yes, but she was surprisingly unconcerned about it. I don’t know if the spell wore off or someone took Isobelle. There were no clues and no footprints. It for sure wasn’t Thane. Ahmed the Mighty Thunderbird was standing on him when I got back to campus.”
Hildy dropped her hand and sighed. “So Isobelle’s still out there somewhere.”
Carol nodded. “Probably. She seemed like a survivor. I’m sure her childhood wasn’t as nice as ours.”
Magic and Mayhem: To Yaga Or Not To Yaga (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Baba Yaga Saga Book 3) Page 8